Going AG... Need suggestions

I am in the process of getting some equipment to go AG. I am thinking of step mashing so I have more control. I have a beer keg that I am in the process of converting and will be able to use to boil, but for the time being for my first batch i will not have it set up to mash in. I have a 5 gal. thin stainless steel pot to mash in and after the mash transfer it into a lauter-tun to sparge with hot water stored in a cooler.
My Questions are:

Is my 5 gal. pot big enough to mash up to 10 lbs of grain or so?

I am going to mash over an electric stove, as long as i stir it every 5 min or so do I have to worry about scorching?

Do you think this setup will work properly?

I am not looking to go elaborate and cant spend alot of money on this for now. I just want to get setup with what i have to go all grain soon. any suggestions will be very appreciated...Thanks

Is the 5 gallon what you are using to boil? Are you doing a 5 gallon batch? If the answers to both questions are "yes", you're in trouble since you're not going to be able to get it done in a pot that small.

Using just the equipment you've listed, you could probably do 3 gallon BIAB (Brew In A Bag) batches on your stovetop. Although I have done several AG batches this way, I usually do partial mashes on the stovetop and limit my grains to maybe 5-6 pounds, just to keep things manageable.

imo, you are gonna be pushin the limits of that kettle for your mash. i have a 10 gal kettle that doubles as mash tun and boiling kettle right now, and it is prob half full with 10 lbs of grain and a little over 3 gal of water in it during a mash. as for scorching, im not really sure cause mine is pretty heavy stainless and with the lid on i can sustain 152 degrees for an hour easy. i think with a burner on it is gonna be difficult to keep a costant temp that is low enough to be beneficial, and when you heat up to ur next step it will be easy to over shoot it. that being said, i think it can be done, it will just take a great deal of care. if it were me, i would go to walmart and buy another cheap steel pot if you dont have 1 just in case you dont have enough room in the 5 gal pot. then at least you could split ur mash if you had to. hope it all works out. you do have the keg ready to boil in, right?
Zac

Try this!

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

I suggest mashing in the cooler w/ a braid for lautering, use the pots for heating sparge wated and boil kettle.

Thanks for the chart and the calculators...according to those i should be close but ok. My next question is what ratio do you use quart/ lb of grain? will this affect my efficiency by useing higher ratio of water (to lessen scorching)?

And yes I will have my 15 gal kettle ready by then to boil... it just wont be ready to mash in.

sambogi76 said:

Thanks for the chart and the calculators...according to those i should be close but ok. My next question is what ratio do you use quart/ lb of grain? will this affect my efficiency by useing higher ratio of water (to lessen scorching)?

Click to expand...

A lot of people actually get better efficiency with higher ratios. I think Bobby M, (but could have been someone else), did a 1.25 qt/lb and 1.5 qt/lb experiment and got better eff out of 1.5 qt/lb. Also, the guys on Brewing Radio or whatever it's called tried 2 qt/lb and found a vast improvement over 1.25 qt/lb.

has anyone step-mashed using a cooler? by the temp from 120 to 150-160 by using boiling water?

would this be doable?

Step mashing is easier with a heatable mash tun than with a cooler, but it's still possible with a cooler especially if you do a decoction mash.
If you're thinking of stepping from 120 - 150's, you're obviously considering a protein rest. My question to you is why?
With most of today's malts being highly modified, a protein rest can actually be detrimental as it could inhibit head retention and flavor. This may not apply if you are using less highly modified malts.

-a.

ajf said:

Step mashing is easier with a heatable mash tun than with a cooler, but it's still possible with a cooler especially if you do a decoction mash.
If you're thinking of stepping from 120 - 150's, you're obviously considering a protein rest. My question to you is why?
With most of today's malts being highly modified, a protein rest can actually be detrimental as it could inhibit head retention and flavor. This may not apply if you are using less highly modified malts.

-a.

Click to expand...

I thought a protein rest would help with head retention and clarity. So do you think it would be more beneficial to just do a single infusion mash? It would be much simpler especially for my first AG batch. This is all i can think about any more (doing a AG batch).

sambogi76 said:

I thought a protein rest would help with head retention and clarity. So do you think it would be more beneficial to just do a single infusion mash? It would be much simpler especially for my first AG batch. This is all i can think about any more (doing a AG batch).

Click to expand...

See http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-4.html.
Most malts nowadays are fully modified.

Good luck with the batch.

-a.

ajf said:

See http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-4.html.
Most malts nowadays are fully modified.

Good luck with the batch.

-a.

Click to expand...

That really answered all of my questions. Thanks for the info. Looks like im converting my cooler for a single infusion mashing!